Cage
by Kiwi The Great
Summary: When Jason wakes up in a room full of cages, he doesn't know what to think. That is, until he see's a girl scuttling towards him at full speed. Sorry if Nico doesn't seem as sullen as usual! I tried to focus on his more compassionate side with this piece.
1. Chapter 1

**"Well I've been here before, sat on a floor in a grey, grey, mood. Where I stay up all night, and all that I write is a grey, grey t****une."**

**-Damien Rice**

**"Grey Room"**

* * *

The first thing that Jason saw when he woke up was Piper.  
Which he found relieving...  
Until he saw that she was in a cage.

Bolting upright, he felt a sharp pain coursing through his leg. A small gasp escaped his lips, as he bent over to feel for any obstructions. Patting his thigh, he didn't feel anything except a wet, warm liquid.

Trying to regain his bearings, he noticed there was a large medevial candelabra swinging from the ceiling. Once his eyes finally adjusting to the dim light in the chamber, he glanced at his palm, which was covered in blood. His jeans where already soaked, and a small puddle surrounded his leg.  
He heard Piper sob from across the room. Squinting, he could just make out a silhouette of her small body hunched in the corner of the cell.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself off the ground, only to find himself face to face with the concrete once more. Pain ricocheted up his spine and leg.  
'Must be broken," he thought.

Struggling to get up once more, he finally managed to get to his feet. Limping his way towards Pipers' cage, he heard another voice from the other side of the room.

"Jason?!" It exclaimed.  
Turning his hips so he wouldn't have to move his leg, Jason pivoted towards the noise.

'_I... I know that voice.'_ he pondered.

"Nico?" he said. "What're you-"

"No time to explain," Nico said quickly.

Narrowing his eyes, Jason saw the shadow of the younger boy in another prison a few yards away.

"Grab Piper!" he growled. "You have to get out of here, before she comes back."

Raising his eyebrows, Jason turned his body full circle. "Who's 'she'?" he asked sharply.  
Before Nico could reply, a fluctuating cackle rose through the air.

Gasping slightly, Nico scrambled into the corner of his cell.  
"No..." he whispered." That's... That's too early. She said she'd be back after-"

The small windows above their heads trembled. As the cackling escalated into full scale wailing, they shattered, sending glass across the room like a supernova. Jason sheltered his head with his arms as best as he could, while Nico was hunched over in the fetal position like he was reanacting a tornado drill. Piper whimpered loudly in fear from her cell.

Through the dust and stones that continued to hail from the explosion, Jason could see the figure of a girl hop down the wall, scuttling towards them.

...Wait.

'_Scuttling?'_ Jason thought.

Before he could finish the thought, the creature pounced at him, snarling in his face.

With the light shooting in from the windows. Jason could clearly see the profile of his attacker.  
It wasn't a girl, per say. It was a creature more on the lines of looking like a girl. On the inside, she was a wild animal.

Smiling manically, her eyes were as crazy as her actions. They were almost too big for her head, just white orbs gravitating on her sullen face. Despite her sunken skull, they glinted with a harsh fascination that could only be described as madness. Her hair was shoved on top of her head like a mop. Thin, frizzy tendrils of dark brown shot out in every direction, greasy and ratty.

Her body was as frail as a twig, but her grip was crazy strong. Long fingers led to stubby finger nails, and the only thing she wore was a filthy dress manufactured out of rags. Shoes were out of the question, seeing as her feet were caked with dirt and soot.

"Sacrifices..." she giggled. "Sacrifices for the Earth Mother."  
Still clutching Jason's shirt, she began to laugh again. "She says I make good sacrifices..."  
Suddenly, her gaze turned sad and serious. "I had to sacrifice seeing my family..." she whispered.  
As fast as it had turned morose, her face sprang back into a smile like a rubber band.

"But that's okay. Mother says it is. She says that I will see them soon." she chanted, as if she were trying to convince herself more than Jason. At this, she turned towards Nico, who had been staring wide eyed at Jason throughout the attack.

"Isn't that right, Nicky?" she giggled playfully. "You can bring them back. You said you could. 'blood of Olympus', right?"

Nico fidgeted nervously, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't result in her freaking out again.

"I never said anything about bloodshed " he explained cautiously. "Besides, it isn't me. You know that."

The young girl whirled around at Nico, her eyes blazing with fury.  
"_**STOP LYING TO ME!**_" she shrieked. "**_I KNOW YOU'RE LYING!_**"

Jason's mind reeled from the piercing scream. He tried to think of where he had heard of a "Lyssa" in mythology. Something with... rabies?

Suddenly, he remembered. Lyssa was the Greek version of Ira, the spirit of rage and frenzy. She was rabies personified, an entity of madness and insanity. Born from the blood of Ouranos, she was a daughter of Nyx. Or was it Gaia? He had heard that Hera (curse her) had given Lyssa the task of striking Heracles with insanity, causing him to murder his wife and children. It was a gruesome tale.

Lyssa let go of Jason's collar, walking towards Nico. She gripped the bars of his cage until Jason could see her knuckles turn white.

"You _promised_," she snarled through clenched teeth.  
Nico slowly backed against the wall, which hardly did any good.

Jason felt a pit of worry grow in his stomach.

"Nico... what's she doing?" he asked worriedly.

Nico's eyes flitted to meet Jason's, then glanced up at the ceiling. Jason saw his mouth open slightly, then quickly shut again.  
Lyssa glanced back at Jason. A delirious smile spread across her face like wildfire.

"I'll make you proud, mother..." she raved. "**_I_** don't break promises."

She pulled out a crooked dagger from the folds in her loincloth dress, slowly prowling towards Jason with a malevolent gleam in her eyes.

"_JASON, LOOK OUT!_" Piper cried.

Looking around wildly, Jason tried to locate where her voice was coming from. Suddenly, he heard a large groan emanating from the ceiling.

Slowly, Jason raised his head just in time to see the candelabra hanging from the ceiling crash onto where Lyssa stood with a thunderous SMASH!  
The rusted metal of the candelabra exploded onto the floor, causing the candles that occupied it to fly across the room in all directions.

Once the dust settled, Jason saw Piper leap down from the ceiling. Brushing herself off, she sprinted over to Jason, wrapping her arms around him.  
Relieved that she was okay, Jason breathed her in. She still smelled like cinnamon.

Piper let go of Jason's neck.

"I'm so relieved!" she said, grinning widely. "When I saw you collapse..."  
Her voice cracked, the breath catching in her throat. Jason noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears.

"How did you even get up in the ceiling?" he asked.

Piper beamed at him. "Has Nico ever told you that he has geokinesis?"

Jason' sees widened. "No, but it wouldn't surprise me," he said.

She wrapped her arms around him again. "I'm just glad you're okay," she whispered in his ear.

Jason sighed, tightened his arms grip on her waist. "Me, too," he breathed.

"Uh, guys..." Nico stuttered. "I think we might have a problem."

Jason and Piper turned turned in time to see Lyssa rise from the floor. Panting heavily, she brushed a piece of melted wax from her shoulder like a coat of dust.

"It looks like _someone_ needs a timeout," she hissed.

Just then, a shuddering squeak filled the room. All eyes swiveled toward the noise, which was coming from Nico's side of the room.

"Wait...", Jason murmured.

"Is he..." Piper gasped.

_"Bending the metal?!"_ they said in unison.

With that, Nico shoved his hands between the bars, cramming his fingers in the middle. With a small grunt from Nico, he jerked his hands in the opposite direction. Shuddering and groaning, the iron bars twisted like Playdough. Nico moved them aside, creating a hole just big enough for him to fit through.

Triumphant, Nico jumped out of his cage and onto the stone floor. For once, Lyssa didn't say anything. Only a small squeak escaped from her lips.  
Nico slowly walked up to her, kneeling down in front of the girl so that they were eye level.

"You've been a bad girl," he chided calmly.

Lyssa's bottom lip quivered. She bent her head. "I know," she whimpered sadly.

She looked up at Nico. "I miss my mommy and daddy," she admitted. "I never see them anymore. I try to make them proud..."  
Her voice trailed off.

Nico gave her a warm smile. "Take your time," he said kindly.

With a few moments of silence, Lyssa took a small breath before speaking again.

"I thought that, if I brought other people here..."  
She gulped, looking down at her lap.

"...maybe it would be like having a family again."

At this, Piper brought her hands to her mouth to cover her gasp.  
Jason's eyebrows furrowed. He never though the sadistic girl would show any sign of human nature and morale. He thought for sure that she had gone mad with the absence of her relatives.

Nico sat on both knees, now.

"Do you remember Lady Artemis?" he asked her.

Lyssa nodded timidly. "Yes..." she replied. " A bad man tried to peek at her when she was undressing. I had to punish the bad man. I made his doggies hurt him."

Nico smiled sadly. "Yes, you did," he said.  
He shifted on the ground, so he could sit cross legged.

"I think... You've spent so long remembering the bad people, you've forgotten the good ones," Nico thought out loud. "The ones that helped you".

With that in mind, Nico picked up a scrap of metal that had fallen from the candelabra. He put it in his hand, and bent it into a small dog. Once he was finished, he put it gently in Lyssa's hand, taking her fingers and curling them around the statuette.

Lyssa sniffed, a smile splitting her face. "I kind of like doggies...", she said.

Jason ruffled his hair, his brow furrowing. He never imagined Nico showing much compassion, except towards Hazel. But now, he could have passed as a grade A therapist. Jason thought about Nico's journey through Tartarus, and how he had nearly gone insane. Realizing it now, Nico probably felt sympathy for Lyssa because he knew what she was going through.

Nico shifted his weight on his legs.

"I have a dog at home," he stated. "Her name is Mrs. O' Leary. I think you'd like her."

Lyssa sniffled. "Yes..." she mumbled wistfully. " Yes I would."

Standing up, Nico stretched his legs.

"Well, Lyssa," he said. "I think that it's time for us to leave. Don't you think?"

Lyssa's somewhat happy expression turned sour in a matter of seconds. "W-what?!" she cried. "But you just got here!"

She glanced back at Jason, smiling demonically. "Besides, I haven't fully met your friend."

Nico backed away from the little girl. Jason and Piper did the same.

"Uh, Nico...", Jason said nervously, eyeing the dagger that was still in Lyssa's palm. "I think we should get going."

Lyssa stood up faster than Jason could blink. A white light began to shimmer around her, growing bright every second. And was that... a dog head that appeared on her for a moment?

"**NO**!" she exploded. "_**I'M NOT LETTING MY FAMILY GO AGAIN**_!"

The entire room began to crumble and shake, and the walls began to collapse around them.

Nico looked horrified. "What are you doing?!"

Lyssa turned towards him, a demonic grin plastered onto her face.

"Now we'll always be together," she rambled. "_Brother_..."

Nico rushed over to Piper and Jason. "Grab hands!" he instructed.

They hastily snatched hold of each other. Jason looked around the room, watching Lyssa. The way she had looked at Nico was mortifying. Like he was her prized possession. Jason felt compelled to snap the girl into reality.

However, looking back at the little girl, tears were streaming down her cheeks. She looked genuinely heartbroken that they were leaving.

Jason told _himself_ to snap out of it.  
'_Its a trick," _he thought_. "She's just exploiting us for her benefit."_

Once they all joined hands, Nico closed his eyes, concentrating. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder at Lyssa.

"I thought I might have been able to help you defeat your demons." he said dissapointedly. "Because everyone else is too busy with their own. But now..."

Nico looked Lyssa in the eyes. "The only demon you have is yourself."

Lyssa reeled in shock. Suddenly, her face turned steely. She began to laugh wildly.

Nico turned back to his companions. "Let's go," he mumbled.

The shadows began to swallow them, chilling Jason to the bone. He took once last look at Lyssa, who was arching her arm back, dagger in hand.

Jason's eyes widened in horror. The blade passed through the air.  
Panicked thoughts ran through Jason's head.

'_Oh gods oh gods NIC-'_

And then they were gone.


	2. Snow Covered Requests

**CHAPTER TWO:  
SEASIDE**

Shadow traveling was probably the strangest yet most exhilarating thing that Jason had ever experienced. He had flown before, being son of Jupiter and all, but this was different. Like... you were somehow flying with out leaving the ground. A strange, cold wind surrounded them, blowing his hair around. Anonymous voices whispered from unseen mouths, and he felt like he was being watched. Or, more accurately, _sensed_ by something.

With a sudden whooshing noise, and the feeling like he was returning from being upside down, Jason and his friends popped out of the shadow travel.  
Yelping slightly, Jason landed face first into... sand?

Slowly raising his head, he spat wet muck out of his mouth, wiping his lips off with his hand.

Blinking furiously, his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. The sky was cloudy, bathing the world in white. A slight chill filled the air, and Jason realized that it was snowing.

Rubbing his hands against his bare arms, he looked around for Piper. She was sitting about thirty feet from where he was, coughing up sand.  
Jason jogged over to Piper, waving his arms at her slightly.  
She looked up from the sand, raising her hand over her eyebrow so she could see him clearly. Her eyes widened, and she smiled.

"Hey, big guy," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Did you like shadow travel as much as I did?" he asked her, grinning slightly.

Piper shook her head, making a disgusted face. "Nah. Makes me neasous."  
Hugging once more, they sighed.

And then he remembered about the knife.

He stepped away from Piper, looking wildly for any signs that either she or he was hurt, and finding nothing. He started to panic.

'_Maybe... it didn't make it through. Maybe Lyssa missed_', he thought uncertainly.

"Are you okay, Jason?" Piper asked worriedly. "You look pale. What's wrong?"

"Um...Piper?" he said nervously. "Have you seen Nico?"

Piper looked up, a tense look on her face. "N-no." she stuttered. "I thought he was with you."

He and Piper began looking around for the boy.  
Suddenly, Jason heard a quivering voice coming from several yards behind him.

"J...Jason." it whimpered.

Whirling around, Jason saw Nico trying to walk towards them, but not making much progress. He was slightly hunched over, clutching his stomach, and his breathing was quick and shallow.

Jason thought that maybe the kid was just tired from the shadow travel.

That is, until he saw Nico grab his stomach, and pulled. His hand shook, and he held a bloodied knife in his palm. Letting it drop to the wet sand, Nico looked up at Jason with fear in his eyes, and then lurched forward.

The whole world seemed like it was moving in slow motion. Jason's breath hitched in his throat. He rushed forward.

He tried to catch him, and managed to prevent Nico from falling face first into the shore. He positioned him so that he was on his back. Jason pulled Nico closer to him, trying to keep him conscious. The younger boy was already shivering.

"Nico," he said sharply, cupping the back of the boys' head with his palm. "Stay with me, man, come on."

Nico's eyes looked like they weren't focused, and he tried to lift his head to where he had heard Jason's voice, but couldn't muster the strength. He only whimpered and moaned slightly. Brushing snowflakes from his face, Jason realized that his skin was ice cold.

'_Oh, gods, no', _he thought_. 'Dont let him go into shock, __**please**__."_

Jason glanced back at Piper, who was on the verge of crying.  
"Do you have any ambrosia?" he asked her urgently.

She shook her head, tears flowing down her face. She sobbed once and crumpled to the ground, head in her hands.

_'Sacrifices...' _Lyssa's words echoed in his head_. 'Sacrifices for the Earth Mother."_

It was only now that he he realized what sacrifices she was talking about. Not just the physical kind; the emotional kind. Nico, although stubborn and guarded most of the time, was a great kid. Despite their differences, and what happened in Croatia, Jason had grown fond of the younger demigod. He often thought of him as a little brother, a thing that needed to he protected.

'_You don't deserve this...' _he thought_. 'Not any of it."_

Nico's whimpers were growing weaker, now. His breathing was so shallow, Jason had thought he had stopped.

"Jason?" he murmured quietly. "Are we friends?"

The blonde haired boy looked at Nico in shock. He was getting paler, and he saw his eyes glistening with tears.

"Of course, Nico. Why would you say that?"

The boy sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment.

"It's just good to know I got one thing right."

At that, Nico's eyes opened again. This time, he looked even more unfocused, more unsure of his surroundings, and his brown irises appeared to be slightly glazed over.

Nico opened his mouth, his voice quivering slightly.

"Tell the others that... I'm sorry for failing them. That I can't deliver the statue. And..."

Nico coughed, and blood trickled down his chin. Jason quickly wiped it away with his the back of his hand.

Breathing a ragged breath, he sighed again. He lifted his head slightly, and dug his fingers into the sand. He plied it into his hand, crushing with. When his palm opened, the sand was in the shape of a horse. With the sand being tan and all, Jason thought it kind of looked like Hazel's horse, Arion.

"Could you give it to her?" Nico asked. "I... I think she'd like it."

Nodding softly, Jason took the figure out of his palm, surprised by how solid it was.

"Also...tell Hazel that I know she'll do well. That I have faith in her. Tell her I love her."

Nico's voice cracked, and he began to cry softly.

"Tell Percy that I'm sorry I never got to tell him myself."

Nico breathed in for the last time, his eyes reflecting the cloudy sky above. His head went limp in Jason's hand, the shivering ceased to a close. Several tears trickled slowly down his cheeks.  
Somehow, in death, he seemed peaceful.

A small sob escaping him, Jason ran his fingers over Nico's eyelids, and pulled them softly over his eyes.  
At this, he burrowed his face into the boys' jacket, hugging him tightly, and began to cry.


	3. What Now?

After several minutes of sobbing, Piper stood up. She sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. She glanced at Jason, who was motionless over Nico's body. He had stopped crying, but hadn't moved since he had collapsed the first time.

Piper felt new tears fill her vision, making the world blurry. She quickly blinked them away.  
'_You have to be strong,' _she thought._ 'Dont get wrapped up in the situation.'_

She looked back at her boyfriend once more.  
'_Figure out a way to get home,' _she told herself_. 'To keep your mind off things.'_

She forced herself to walk over to Jason, who was shivering slightly from the cold in his pale gray. t-shirt. Piper sighed, thinking of what to say.

'No one could have predicted this' wouldn't cut it. 'I'm sorry' didn't even come close to what she was feeling. So, instead, she wrapped her arms around Jason's body, pulling him close to her.

"Its okay. We're okay." she said soothingly, rubbing his back. Jason sobbed again, burying his face into her shoulder.  
She heard him take a shaky breath, and he wrapped his arms weakly around her, as to not get any blood on her.

After a few moments, Jason broke the unbearable silence.  
"It should have been me," he exclaimed.  
Shocked, Piper grabbed hold of his face, forcing him to look at her.

"How could you say something like that!?" she cried. "You know that Nico wouldn't allow that to happen. None of us would. "  
Jason nodded slightly, his eyes solemn and unfocused.

_'He might not know how to handle this...' _Piper thought_. 'He's seen death before, but...'_

She glanced at Nico's unmoving body, watching the snowflakes float onto his dark clothing, glistening like stars.

_'Not something so close to home. Not right in front of him." _

Piper felt her throat close up. Swallowing back the tears painfully, she held in a sob.

"If we don't get out of here, we're both going to have a meltdown," she forced herself to say. "I know you might not want to, but..."

Jason coughed slightly, nodding his head. He looked Piper, his irises glinting sadly. However, she recognized a fiery look in them. Like he was about to charge into battle.

"I'll carry him," he said throught chattering teeth. "We have to take him back to the others."

Piper hesitated. "...Are... are you sure? You don't have to do anything you feel like you can't do, or-"

Jason' s eyes flashed with determination. "I said I'll carry him, " he insisted.  
Flinching slightly, Piper backed away.  
'Give him some space,' she thought worriedly. 'He just needs time.'

"How will we get back home?" she asked him nervously.

Jason paused, like he hadn't thought about that predicament. "I... I'll fly us."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "All three of us, Jason?"

Jason glanced down at Nico, then back at Piper.  
"Yes," he said. "I owe him that much."

Piper nodded.  
'_He's taking charge,' _she thought, relieved_. 'Thats a good sign, right?'_

Frowning slightly, Piper looked at her surroundings. She didn't really recognize where they were.

"Uh, not to be a downer, but..." she fiddled with her hands. "How are we supposed to fly home? We don't even know where we are."

Closing his eyes, Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose between fingers. "I'll figure something out."

Suddenly, voices radiated across the beach. Turning around, Piper saw an old woman and her husband walking along the shore.  
Not entirely sure what they were doing, she ran towards the old couple, Jason close behind her, clutching Nico to his chest bridal style.

"Excuse me, miss?" Piper said politely, making sure to slip a little charmspeak into her dialogue. "Could you tell us where we are?"

The old woman blinked, thinking for a moment. A smile danced across her wrinkly features. "My, what a beautiful dog you two have. What's his name?"

Piper scrunched her face in confusement. She looked back at Jason, who looked just as weirded out at the woman's statement as she was.

Piper' s eyes fell onto Nico' body.

'_Oh...'_ she thought sadly. She had forgotten that the mortals couldn't see through the Mist. The old woman thought that Nico was simply their dog, a mutt. It made Piper boil with rage. Jason looked like he was about to pounce on the old woman.

'_It's not her fault,'_ she told herself.

"Cheryl, the girl asked you a question," grumbled the old man.

"What?!" the woman yelled. It seemed that she was hard of hearing,

"I said-"

"It's fine," Piper interrupted quickly." We were just wondering where we were."

"Why, sweetie, you're in Manhattan. Just a few miles from the Empire State Building," beamed the women.

Piper and Jason sighed in relief. They were close.

"Can you point us to the city?" she cooed.

The woman's smile faded slightly. She turned to her husband, who looked grumpy. "George, which way to the city? I can't seem to remember."  
Her husband huffed indignantly, and pointed his stubby finger behind Piper.

Giddy with happiness, she gave the old man a kiss on the cheek, making him blush.

Piper and Jason ran towards the direction that the man had pointed them to, and dashed over the side of the dunes. On the other side, New York glittered in the bright sunlight. Even from half a mile away, Piper could hear the cars honking. The smell of food carts drifted through the air.

"So..." Piper said. "What now?"


	4. Reunion

Jason shrugged. "I guess we figure out where the Argo II is." He gulped, bowing his head. "To... to tell them..."

Piper nodded quickly, so she wouldn't start crying again. "Yeah. That sounds good."

"I never thought of it before, but..." he furrowed his eyebrows. "I guess I could... track the Argo II."  
P

iper looked at her boyfriend, surprised. "Really? I didn't know you could do that."

Jason nodded. "It's... _faint_, but...I can sense where they went. It's like a trail of smoke or something. It's hard to see, but it shouldn't be impossible to do."

"Will... will you be able to make it that far?" she asked softly. She touched her hand to his shoulder. "We can stop and rest for a bit, if your feeling tired."

Jason shook his head in refusal. "No. If we're close to camp, I could probably grab a pegasus or two. That way, I won't have to carry all of you at once."  
Piper bit her lip.  
'_He's thinking clearly, at least.' _she thought_. 'That's good.'_

When they appeared at camp, it was already nighttime. Everyone had gone to bed, so there wasn't anyone to prevent them or delay them any longer than needed.

Trying to be quiet, Piper snuck into the stables. The pegasi and horses snickered and whinnied, but Piper hissed "Be quiet, or I'll turn you all into dog food!". That shut them up for a while.

She finally recognized a black pegasus, barely visible in the darkness of the stables.  
"Hey, Blackjack!" she whispered happily. "You want to go for a ride?"  
The pegasus whinnied happily, but Piper shushed him before he could wake anyone up.  
"Alright then, " she smiled, grabbing a blanket from the wall. "It's going to be long, though. You think you can do it?"  
He looked at her like, _'Seriously, woman? You doubt my skills?'_  
Piper laughed, the first time all day. "Alright, then."

Jason had waited for her outside, still bundling Nico in his arms. When Piper returned, she found him snoozing.

"Not tired, huh?" she rebuked.

Jason looked up at her, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Just resting," he insisted.

Piper sat down next to him. "I'm tired, too." she mumbled.

Jason looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry I haven't really been myself since... you know..."

He glanced at Nico's body, which was cradled in his lap, then back at Piper.  
Piper saw his distress, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She sniffled.

"I know..." she whispered. "I miss him, too."

Jason looked like he was in the mood to hit something. "It sounds cheesy, but...he was just..._too young_, you know?" he looked at Piper, his face distraught. "He'd already had a bad childhood, with the World War II crap going on. Not to mention that his sister left him, then died without ever properly saying goodbye. His mother was killed, and his father treats him like a piece of schist. Animals hate him, people don't trust him and think he's weird just because he wears black."  
He paused, taking a moment to breathe,  
"He... He went through _Tartarus alone_, and had to watch his best friends fall into that place as soon as he had left it. He...had some things that he kept to himself... because he thought that people would just push him away again."  
He stopped there. Piper feared that he had broken down again. Then, he got up suddenly, wrapping Nico up in his arms.  
"Let's just get this over with," he said.

It had taken them the entire night, and almost half of the next day for them to finally track down and land on the Argo II. The whole time, Blackjack kept on shooting worried looks at Nico, and then he would look back at Piper like

_"Is he gonna pop put of that blanket and scare me or somethin'?"_

Piper would just shake her head and bury her face into his mane.  
'_If only it were true,' _she thought bitterly.

She was starting to genuinely worry about Jason. Despite not having any means of rest in the past 75 hours, he hadn't let go of Nico since he died. It's like he thought a monster was going to snatch him away from his arms. Everytime Piper offered to hold onto him, he insist that he was fine, and continue to carry him. She thought that he might be going crazy.

When they landed on the Argo II, the first person to appear was Leo. When he saw them, he nearly spat out the water he had been chugging.

"Good gods, Sparky!" he cried. "Don't scare me like that."

He glanced at Nico's body.

"Hey, what's wrong with Zombie Dude?"

Jason and Piper looked down at the floorboards.  
Leo's cheerful expression turned into disbelief and sadness churned into one.

"Oh...oh, gods."

"Hey, guys!"

Hazel burst into the room, her curly hair flowing down her shoulders, a beaming smile on her face.

She looked at everyone's faces in the room, and she frowned.  
"What's...going on? Did someone get hurt?"  
Her eyes drifted to Nico.

"No..." she said in shock. "NO."  
She crumpled to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.  
Frank and Annabeth ran into the corridor, hearing Hazel's cries.

"What the-" Frank said. He looked at Hazel, then at bundle in Jason's arms. He furrowed his eyebrows sadly.  
Annabeth gasped, her hand over her mouth. Tears were brimming the corners of her eyes.

Suddenly, Percy's voice floated from farther up the hallway.  
"Hey, Annabeth?" he called. "What kind of meat do you want on your sandwi-"  
The black haired boy walked for around the corner. He looked at everyone in confusion.

"Uh...I guess I'll be making more sandwiches, then?

He noticed that Annabeth was crying. Infact, everyone was in pretty bad shape.  
"Hey..." he said. "What happened? Why's everyone so sad looking?"

Moving into the center of the room, he walked over stopped in his tracks when he saw Nico in Jason's arms.  
"He's... not," he gulped. "...Dead, right?" His voice cracked at the end.

His suspicions were confirmed when Hazel sobbed again.  
Percy leaned against the wall. His arms were shaking.  
"I... never thought he would actually...". He covered his face with his hands, wiping his eyes.

Jason cleared his throat, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the figurine that Nico had made for Hazel before he passed.  
He walked up to Hazel, and dropped the statuette carefully into her hand.

Nico's last words echoed in Jason's mind.

"He wanted you to know that he has faith in you," he said to Hazel, his voice quivering slightly.. "He wanted you to know that he loved you, and that he knew you were going to do well."

Looking at the statue, Hazel scrunched her face in despair and began to sob into her coat sleeve.

"He wanted you guys to know that he was story for failing us. For not getting the statue to Camp Half Blood."  
At this point, everyone was an emotional wreck, or close to it.

Jaso turned to Percy.  
"I hope you're happy."


End file.
